


swing high enough to touch the sky

by Awaari



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Fluff, Found Family, Other, childhood AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 06:06:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17892938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awaari/pseuds/Awaari
Summary: Nadia trusts Shorter and Yut-Lung, after some begging, to take baby Sing out with them for the day





	swing high enough to touch the sky

**Author's Note:**

> This was initially written for my baby Sara for her birthday, never to see the light of day. But then bfauweek came along and I decided to finally post something on ao3.  
> ~I hope you guys enjoy~

“Nadia come on, can we please take Sing with us? I promise we’ll be super duper extra careful with him!”

Nadia honestly had better things to do, like study for her SATs, but instead she had Yue and Shorter staring up at her with puppy dog eyes and small pouts on their faces. 

“I don’t know, guys. It’s really crowded out there and I don’t want Sing to get lost or hurt. He’s only six and his mom put him under my watch so I don’t think that’s a good idea,” 

Nadia looked over her shoulder to see Sing acting like he was watching Spongebob when all his attention was on their conversation. These kids were too smart for their own good. 

“I promise I’ll take good care of him. You know I’m the most respson- riboson- resin-“ Yue stuttered, brows furrowed as he tried to get the word out. 

“Responsible?” Nadia offered.

“Yeah, that! I already have my bag ready with band-aids, water, and animal crackers so he doesn’t get hungry,” Yue said with such determination, Nadia had to hold herself back from pinching his round cheeks. 

“You know I’m a good big bro right Nadia? I take good care of them all the time. I’m 10 years old, I’m a big kid now,” Shorter’s chest puffed out, his missing teeth making his statement even funnier than it was already. 

Nadia finally sighed and relented, telling the boys that they had to be careful no matter what and always keep their eyes on Sing. When she called over the youngest boy, he was practically bouncing with energy and excitement. His chubby little fists gripped onto his backpack straps and his chubby cheeks were pinker than usual. He waddled out behind Yue and Shorter, clearly elated at the big kids wanting to include him. 

It was touching really, how much the boys seemed to care for each other. They’d always been close because of their families being friends. She could still remember the first time Yue and Shorter had met Sing back when he was barely two years old and drooling all over their toys. The boys didn’t seem to care, too excited to play with the little baby and happily cleaning up after his mess. This bond seemed to keep up after all these years and it was weird seeing them grow up so fast. Is this how Mom feels? 

Nadia walked over to the window to see the boys walking together down the crowded street. She wouldn’t lie, she was a bit anxious and even worried if she made the right decision, but she put faith in Shorter and Yue to take good care of their little friend.

_______________________________________________________

 

Sing looked around him with sheer wonder and amazement in his eyes. The bright colors and loud sounds of Chinatown were always fascinating to him whenever he went out with his mother but this was different. He was with his big friends now, not his mom who always told him he couldn’t do this or couldn’t do that. 

Yue and Shorter didn’t even bat an eye when Sing pointed at random things and asked them about them.

“What that?” 

“It’s a lobster,”

“And that?”

“That’s a restaurant,”

“What about that?”

“That’s an old lady,”

“Why is she old?”

“She was born way before us,”

“Why?”

“Because,”

The questions he had were endless; everything just seemed so interesting to him. Yue and Shorter were both so smart and clever, always ready with answers in both Cantonese and English. They were both so cool, and they were his friends.

_______________________________________________________

 

“Yue, where are we gonna go now?” Sing asked, struggling slightly. Yue looked down to see the boy looking flustered as he tried to keep up with the taller two. He stopped and reached out his hand for Sing to hold, nudging Shorter so he would do it two. Sing grabbed onto their fingers with his grubby little hands and walked along beside them. 

Yue giggled at Sing’s excitement as the little boy practically buzzed with it, asking for anything and everything they came across. 

“Can we get noodles?” 

“Maybe later,”

“Can we get ice cream then?”

“Gotta think about it,”

Yue loved walking through Chinatown. Sure, it was crowded and loud, the air thick with smells from the many restaurants and shops. But it was home, had been home for him and his mother ever since they ran away from his father and brothers. Yue didn’t like thinking about them, they were all nasty towards his mama and always hit him without reason. It didn’t matter though, now he had Shorter, Sing, and Nadia.

“Oh watch out for that puddle, you think you can jump over it?” Shorter asked Sing when the stopped before a deep puddle over the yet to be repaired part of the street. Sing looked conflicted, not wanting to get his new shoes and shorts wet. Also not wanting to get in trouble with his mother.

“How about we help you? On the count of three you jump and we’ll pull you with us okay?” Sing looked up at Yue and Shorter and gave a curt little nod.

At the count of three, Shorter and Yue heaved the Sing over the puddle, making the little boy giggle with joy.

“Again! Again! Again!” Sing chanted, jumping up and down in glee. 

“We gotta get to the park now, we can jump later,” Sing looked disappointed but listened to Shorter obediently. Shorter was the oldest between them, and the biggest one too. He was already five feet tall! Yue still barely came up to his shoulders and Sing had to tilt his head all the way back just to make eye contact.

When they got to the park, Sing bolted for the swings.

“Push me please! I wanna go kick the sky like I did last time,” 

Shorter got behind Sing and pushed him, making the boy squeal in delight as he went higher and higher up.

“Be careful, don’t push him too hard,” Yue chastised. Shorter just scoffed and continued to push Sing all the same.

“Yue! Look how high I am! Am I kicking the sky yet?” Sing screamed as he swung back and forth.

“You’re kicking outer space!” Yue chimed enthusiastically. When another swing was free Yue ran over and made himself comfortable. He kicked off and started pushing himself back and forth, gaining momentum on his own.

“Shorter push me harder, he’s gonna go higher than me,” Sing begged, looking over at Yue.

“If I push you any harder you’ll go flying,” Shorter remarked, trying to slow down Sing’s swing. 

“No no no I wanna go higher than Yue, he can’t kick the sky too it’s not fair,” he whined when Shorter stopped pushing. 

“You should learn to swing yourself instead of being such a big baby,” Yue stuck his tongue out. Sing’s cheeks flushed with annoyance.

“Shorter! Push me higher than Yue!” he demanded, kicking his feet against the ground beneath him. Shorter laughed and obliged, pushing the boy again. 

“You can’t go higher than me,” Yue couldn’t help but tease. It was always fun annoying Sing.

“Yes I can, I’m going higher than you right now,” Sing started wriggling on his swing, trying to copy Yue’s movement’s. Before either Yue or Shorter could notice or stop him, Sing let go of the metal bars. Sing was hurled off the swing and onto the ground with a loud thud. 

Shorter ran over immediately. Yue jumped off the swing, panic setting in when he saw the boy laying motionless.

“Sing! Oh my god, are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay,” Yue sat down next to him.

“Go get my bag! I have band aids there,”

“A band aid isn’t gonna do shit if he has a concussion,” Shorter spat out. He looked shaken and pale.

“He didn’t hit his head, I was looking. Go get my bag it has water there too,” 

A few adults looked at them with concern. Sing looked stunned, laying there.

“Hey, are you okay? Please say something, please don’t be dead,” Yue begged. They’d promised Nadia that they would take care of him and they didn’t. 

_______________________________________________________

 

Sing slowly sat up, feeling confused.

“Don’t worry, he just got the wind knocked out of him,” said a nice looking lady next to them. Yue nodded respectfully and went back to inspecting Sing for any injuries. There was a nasty cut on both his knees and his chubby hands were scraped as well.

“Does is hurt?” Sing asked, pouring water over the wounds after Shorter ran back with his bag. Sing shook his head even though his lips were trembling and his eyes were welling up with tears. A few tears slipped down his dusty cheeks which he wiped away stubbornly, not wanting to look like a big baby.

“Hey now, don’t cry. It’s just a little cut,” Shorter said reassuringly, ruffling his hair affectionately. 

“Okay, now be honest; does it hurt?” Yue questioned again, grabbing the band-aids and scary ointment that always stung when Sing’s mom put it over his cuts. He didn’t want to cry but he couldn’t hold back when Yue started putting the ointment over his scraped knees and palms. 

“I j-just wa-wanted to go a-as high as y-you,” Sing brought his hands up to his tearful eyes to cover them, too embarrassed to be crying in front of Shorter and Yue who were always so brave when they got hurt. Why couldn’t he be as strong and brave as them? 

“But you went waaaay higher than him! Yue just said he was higher ‘cause he was jealous, right Yue?” Shorter nudged the other boy. Yue nodded solemnly as he put Hello Kitty band-aids over Sing’s cuts.

“R-really? I w-went th-that high?” 

“Yeah! You kicked Jupiter and Saturn,” Shorter exclaimed. Sing couldn’t believe it, he had gone higher than Yue and kicked the biggest planets ever. 

“Did they fly away?” he asked tearfully.

“Mhm! Now we have to go on a mission to get them back or their feelings might get hurt,” Yue was done patching him up. When he tried to get back on his feet, he felt wobbly. His knee hurt when he tried to step forward but before he could fall again, Shorter caught him by the back of his shirt.

“Hey, how about I give you a piggyback ride? You wanna be taller than Yue right?” 

“Yeah!” Sing squealed with joy when Shorter picked him up and adjusted him on his back. His cuts and bruises were forgotten as soon as Shorter took off running through the street, Yue running behind them. Sing laughed loudly and screamed for Shorter to run faster and the taller boy did.

_______________________________________________________

 

“I’m getting you both ice cream,” Shorter declared, stopping right in front of the ice cream truck. The melody reminded Shorter so much of when he was younger and would beg his mother to give him a few dollars to get some. It would always take some bargaining but he’d be able to get money off her anyway.

“I want chocolate with rainbow spinkrelers” Sing yelled right next to his ear. Sing wasn’t heavy persay, but the kid kept fidgeting and squirming, making it really hard for Shorter to keep hold of him. It didn’t help that Sing had the loudest voice in the whole world. Even louder than a blue whale that Shorter learned about the other day.

“It’s sprinkles dummy. I want chocolate and vanilla swirl with chocolate and rainbow sprinkles,” Yue said, smiling up at the ice cream man. 

“Uhhhh I guess I’ll get the spiderman popsicle,” 

“Can I get a bite from that too Shorter? Please?” Sing asked, pouting for effect. Shorter and Yue were really rubbing off on him now it seemed. 

“Yeah yeah sure, just one bite though,” 

The boys grabbed their ice creams and lay claim on a bench to sit on and eat. 

“What time did Nadia say we have to get back?” Yue asked, somehow eating his ice cream neatly. 

“I don’t wanna go home! I wanna stay over with you guys today!” Sing demanded, his face covered with chocolate ice cream and sprinkles. His clothes seemed to have gotten more ice cream than his mouth did, but neither Shorter nor Yue commented on it.

“We should head back now, Nadia said she was gonna make Fishballs for us today,” 

Yue and Sing both whooped in excitement, clearly overjoyed by their dinner options.

They all finished their ice cream and made their way back to Shorter’s house, right above Chang Dai. When they got back, Nadia made sure to grill both Shorter and Yue for letting Sing get hurt before leaning over and kissing both of Sing’s cheeks along with all his cuts and bruises.

“Now you’ll be better in no time,” She said before kissing his forehead. Sing positively glowed under her attention. It was no secret to anyone that all the boys looked up to Nadia as if she hung the stars herself. Shorter remembered when she told him how it felt strange compared to her friends who complained about their annoying siblings when she herself had three helpful, respectful, and loving little companions.

After they all scarfed down their dinner— Nadia’s cooking was too delicious to describe with words— they all began getting ready for bed. After taking a bath together, which consisted of Shorter and Yue splashing water at each other and Sing playing with his toy boats in some epic odyssey that played in his mind only, they all got into their pajamas.

Well, they all got into Shorter’s pajamas because they’d forgotten to bring their own considering how spontaneous the sleepover was. Yue just had to roll up the sleeves a bit for the pajamas to look somewhat decent but Sing was practically drowning in the clothes. He seemed to love the big size on himself, giggling when he looked at his own reflection. 

When they all got settled into bed, Sing already passed out between Yue and Shorter, his chubby cheek smushed against the pillow. Nadia walked over and gave them all goodnight kisses.

“Okay guys, lights out. I don’t wanna hear you guys talking okay? Goodnight,”

Shorter could still only faintly see Yue and Sing now, the light from outside casting the two boys in a blue shade. Yue was dozing off as well, his long bangs falling over his face. Shorter didn’t know when he’d started caring for these two so much. He didn’t know much about the world yet despite always acting like a know-it-all around the two, but he knew that there were bad people out there.

Bad people like Yue’s father and brothers who would hurt him, bad people like Sing’s father who left his family only a few days after he was born. He knew about all the bad things that could happen to them, the news constantly talking about people getting murdered or doing drugs and alcohol. He didn’t understand what rape was but when he asked Nadia she told him it was worst thing you could to someone other than killing them.

Shorter wanted to be strong so he could protect Yue and Sing from all those bad things in the world. He wanted to shield them from anything that would take away their beautiful smiles and joyful laughter. He never wanted to see the fear in Yue’s eyes when someone raised their hand on him or hear the sadness and confusion when Sing asked why his father never came back home. 

Shorter was determined to keep these two safe from harm's way. He wrapped his arms around both of them, pulling them closer towards him. Shorter sighed and closed his eyes, trying to sleep himself. He drifted off at the sound of cars and the hustle and bustle of the city.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to talk me! [Twitter](https://twitter.com/rockleefucker)


End file.
